Two in hospital after stabbings

The second attack was at one of the flats at this house in Prospect Street

Two men are in hospital after being stabbed in two separate attacks.

A knife-wielding gang struck on Tuesday and Thursday and police are keeping an open mind about a possible link between the attacks.

The first attack happened on Tuesday at around 9pm when a 28-year-old man was knifed in the stomach in Garston Crescent, off Royal Avenue, Calcot. He is in a stable condition in hospital after an operation.

It was just hours after police announced a dispersal order, imposed in February, had been lifted in the Royal Avenue area and surrounding streets in Calcot because crime and anti-social behaviour had fallen.

Then in the early hours of yesterday six men barged their way into a house in Prospect Street, West Reading, where they threatened a couple living in one of the flats, demanding money. They stole an iPod. A 35-year-old man was stabbed in the head and chest and is currently in a stable condition in hospital. His 23-year-old girlfriend was left with hand injuries.

Men of similar descriptions are being sought in connection with the attacks. All are described as either black or Asian, in their late teens or early 20s. Police have tried to reassure the public that the assault on the couple was not “random”.

The six men knocked on the door of a multiple-occupancy house in Prospect Street at 1.50am on Thursday, before barging in and threatening the couple.

Lucy Burden lives in Prospect Street and was woken by the sound of smashing glass and police sirens. She said: “There was lots of running around and shouting and broken glass everywhere. There were four police cars and two ambulances outside at 2am.”

The detective in charge of the Prospect Street investigation is Inspector Nick Watts, from Reading CID, who said: “It was clearly a very upsetting incident for the victims, but fortunately neither of them appears to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

“We have a large number of officers working on the investigation. I urge anyone who believes they may have any information about the incident to contact my team.

“I would like to reassure the community that the early indications from our investigation are that this is not a random attack.

Police are looking for six men and have descriptions of three of them – a black man, aged 20 or 21 who was between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in tall, an Asian man, 5ft 10in to 6ft tall, with skinny build and aged around 18 to 20 and a third man described as Asian, 5ft 10in to 6ft tall, of a skinny build and aged around 19.

Detective Sergeant Paul Davidson from Newbury CID, investigating the Garston Crescent incident, said: “We would like to trace the following three men who were seen in the area – an Asian man in his early 20s, around 5ft 8in to 5ft 10in, slim build wearing black jeans and a hooded top with a pattern on it.

“A black man in his early 20s, around 5ft 8in to 5ft 10in, slim build, with corn rowed hair wearing a black hoodie and black trousers, and a black or Asian man, in his early 20s, slim build, 5ft 8in to 5ft 10in wearing a black hoodie and black bottoms.”

Calcot ward councillor Brian Bedwell said: “This was a nasty incident and I would first like to assure residents we are not sitting back and doing nothing, there are clearly issues still there and these need to be dealt with.

“However this was a serious incident and although there has been a lot of petty crime in the area of Royal Avenue and Garston Crescent, in my 10 years as ward councillor I have never heard of such a serious incident.”

He added the next meeting about anti-social behaviour was already scheduled for next month and they would discuss the safety of residents in Garston Crescent then.

Sandra Bond, who lives near the junction of Garston Crescent and Royal Avenue, said she will not leave her house after dark.

She said: “I was horrified when I heard about the stabbing. It was just up the top of the road and there were police everywhere. It has made me very nervous.

“The fact the police say anti-social behaviour around here has improved shows how out of the picture they are. It hasn’t changed.

“In the daytime it is fine and there are lots of kids who hang around and don’t cause any problems and you see plenty of police officers but it’s at night when there’s trouble. I won’t leave my house after dark because it’s too dangerous.”